Page 42 of You Had Me At Annyeong!
‘Well, if you ask me, we had equally celebrated, if not more qualified options. I was only doing what I felt was professionally the right thing to do—looking out for the company I work for.’
‘Geureomyo. That goes without saying. I’m sure you have the company’s best interests in mind, Daepyonim wouldn’t expect any less from you.’
He recalls Haneul looking uncomfortable at every mention of football and Rodrigo throughout the meeting, and wonders if Timira had noticed it too.
‘It’s just that you have worked with Rodrigo before and we were all under the assumption that you’ll be on good terms with him.’
We? Who ‘we’? He and Haneul? He and Stephanie? He, Haneul and Stephanie?Timira is confused.
‘Who said anything about being on bad terms, Bujangnim?’ Timira’s tone is icy cold, and a cocky smirk is on her usually pleasant face.
It’s now Mr Choi’s turn to wince. He wasn’t prepared for such a retort.
‘Eh, what? No, I mean—’
Timira cuts in restlessly.
‘I believe there’s been some kind of a misunderstanding. Please don’t overthink it, Seongjae-ssi. I have zero issues with Rod. I only opposed his selection because I genuinely felt we had better people to represent the brand. That’s all!’
Timira lies through her teeth.
Yessss! This is my chance to quash all possibilities of any rumour starting about me and Rod. I’m a professional, fair and unbiased.
‘Ah,Dahenida! To be honest, I was a little concerned. What if he isn’t really a good person to work with? What if he gave you a hard time? I was worried that we might have picked the wrong person.’ Mr Choi’s voice has now lowered, his tone is softer and his words are genuine.
Uh-oh. Should I have told him the truth? Should I tell him? Suna doon apni dukh bhari dastan?
Before Timira can decide if she ought to come clean, Mr Choi launches into a story of his own.
‘You see, this isn’t easy for Daepyonim. He has not been keen on Rodrigo since his name first came up.’
Wow, okay, this is news!
‘Really?’ Timira is curious. Her eyes are now bigger than usual.
‘You see, he carries a trauma from his childhood. I couldn’t give you too many details even if I wanted to because I don’t know much.’
Mr Choi had been quite young himself when the incident occurred. His father had been a lifelong loyalist working for Haneul’s grandmother, Chairwoman Lee. They lived on the premises of the family mansion, albeit in a separate enclosure meant for staff. He was visiting his parents at the time during summer holidays at the college where he had also been sponsored by the Lees.
‘All I know is that he went to Japan for an international football camp—God, he was a gifted ball player—and came back on an airvac needing emergency surgery.’
So Haneul is the one who voted against Rod! Emergency surgery? How badly hurt he must have been …Timira’s heart is starting to melt.
‘He had to stop playing sport and still has to undergo regular check-ups and therapy.’
Poor Haneul. Forget the physical pain; I cannot imagine the mental pain he must’ve had to go through. Oh, my poor, handsome Asian Adonis.
‘He detests any mention of football. I had thought—well, hoped, rather—that after all this time, he might’ve let bygones be bygones. But looking at him today, I realized that he is yet to reconcile his past. It cannot be easy for him to accept a footballer as his brand’s representative!’
Timira can no longer hold back her astonishment.
‘Isn’t the rest of the company … isn’t Stephanie aware of this? Why put him through this agony?’
‘Nobody knows. You are the only person now, apart from me, at SecondSkin who does.’
Wow! Some way of letting me know I’m special. Although I’m not sure why he’s telling me all this.
‘I felt I should share this with you because for some reason, I have a feeling the secret will be safe with you.’
